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I LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. I 




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A SERMON 



IN MESIORV OF THE DEATH OF 



WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 



THE LATE 



PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: 



BY THC 



REV. JOSHUA L. WILSON, D. D. 



Deuveked, May 14, 1841. 



BEING THE DAY RECOMMENDED BY THE PRESIDENT TO BE SPENT IN 
PASTING, PRAYER AND OTHER RELIGIOUS EXERCISES. 



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Cincinnati : 

PRINTED AT THE REPUBLICAN OFFICE, 

BY E. GRAHAM. 

1841. 



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Prepared, delivered and published at the request of the 
Session of the First Presbyterian Church, Cincinnati, Ohio; 
and respectfully inscribed to the bereaved Family and 
Friends of General Harkison. 



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SERMON. 



"There is a time to mourn."— Eccl. iii. 4. 

To those who know that "the whole creation groaneth and 
travaileth in pain," it may be a matter of sonic surprise to 
find it gravely recorded that " there is a time to mourn. " — 
Might they not ask, "when can time be found for mirth, in 
this world of sin and deathT' Yet they are told with equal 
gravity, "there is a time to rejoice." God hath graciously 
preserved man as a prisoner of hope and sent his only begot- 
ten Son "to proclaim liberty to the captives, the opening of 
the prison doors to them that are bound — to proclaim llse 
acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of 
our God." The proclamation of liberty makes a time of 
joy — but the day of vengeance makes a time of grief. "^ 

The truth of our text is applicable to individuals, to fam- 
ilies, to nations. Its application to nations, particularly to 
our own nation, we are this day called to consider. No na- 
tion, under heaven, since Israel was led from the house of 
bondage, has ever been more favored of God than these Unit- 
ed States. The delivery of the thirteen confederated Colo- 
nies, from the usurpation of Great Britain, was almost as 
jniraculous as the Exodus of the twelve tribes from Egypt. 
Many seasons, of great rejoicing, have been aflbrded to us 
under the star-spangled banner, adorned with this significant 
motto, "E Pluribus Unum." Among the peculiar favors con- 
ferred on us, as a nation, is that of the remarkable preserva- 
tion of the lives and usefulness of the leading patriots of 



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American fieedoni. Tlie members of the old Cono-ress, wlio 
signed the Declaration of Independence, who appealed to the 
whole world for the goodness of their cause, and looked to 
the God of armies for success, were long spared to the nation 
as guides, shining as stars of the first magnitude in our po- 
litical firmament, and uniting together by their golden orbits, 
the several States of this great Confederacy. Some of this 
patriotic band were advanced to the highest office in the gift 
of the people, and after wielding the sceptre of the Repub- 
lic, under the dominion of law, returning to the tranquility 
of domestic repose, "slept with their fathers in a good old 
age." 

But it has happened to us as to other nations. The bright 
day of prosperity is closed in by the night of adversity. — 
For more than half a century — one distinguished man suc- 
ceeded another, without a moment's vacation of the Chair of 
State. Bat now the funeral knell has called us to the house 
of mourning. Our beloved President Harrison is dead.— - 
And dead, too, when his steady hand seemed fixed on the 
sceptre of national reform. This sad sound of death — this 
voice from Washington — is heard from the centre to the cir- 
cumference of our vast domain. It speaks to all the language 
of our text — "There is a tdie to mourx." In the history 
of nations there are many practical examples of the duty to 
which we are now called. I shall mention a few, in which 
we shall find that a nation is called to mourn. 

I. When bereaved of a good and great man. 

II. When conscious of sins, which deserve additional re- 
buke. — 

I. A nation is called to mourn when bereaved of a good 
and great man. 

When Moses the servant of Jehovah was called to die, he 
had been long engaged in public life. His services had been 
various and of the highest interest to the Israelites. His body 
and mind were both firm and vigorous, and as far as human 
sagacity could penetrate, he might have led Israel to the con- 



quest 01'. Canaan. Yet comrary lo his wish, contrary io the 
desire of the nalioH/he.-s suddenly airestecl, by the command 
of God, and called to die— and that toe, at the very tiine when 
Israel was aboutto pass ov6r Jordan. For, "the Lord spake 
unto Moses— get thee up into Mount Nebo, and die in the 
Mount whcher thou goest up, and be gathered unto %^ peo- 
ple." How soleriin, how unwelcome the summons! No 
sigh, no prayer could change the mandate! 

^'And Moses weiH up from the plains of Moab unto the 
Mountain of Nebo, t<j the top of Pisgah, " and the Lord 
sliewed him all parts of the Land, and said— "This is the land 
which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, 
saying I will give it unto thy seed^ I have eau&ed thee to see 
it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither."— "So 
Moses the servant of the Lord died— his eye was not dim nor 
his natural force abated. And the children of Israel wept for 
Moses, in the plains of Moab, thirty days.'' Moses had 
acted as a scourge to Pharaoh, a leader, law-giver, and judge 
to Israel— and just when apparently entering upon the mo^'st 
delightful and elevated services of public life, in the Land of 
of Promise, he is subjected to the stroke of death. But 
Joshua the son of Nun, was left, "fall of the spirit of wis. 
dom, and the children of Israel hearkened unto him." While 
the Israelites wept for IMoses, thirty days, how many recollec- 
tions weuld crowd upon their attention! They would think 
of his public services, of his meekness, his frequent interpo- 
sitions to avert divine vengeance, to mitigate sufferings, to 
remove evils. And how would their hearts relent and "their 
eyes swim with tears, when they remembered their own in- 
gratitude to God, their murmurings against Moses— the base 
charges, the unfounded calumnies they had uttered against 
him— the stones they had lifted up to cast at him— the good 
counsel they had slighted, and the wickedness they had 
practised. All this, and more would be so many bitter in- 
gredients in their cup of sorrow. Yet some good to them 
resulted from this great calamity. It is recorded to their 



■ . i >iu « UJtnu-m'.u»iL»-i 



credit, that wlieii the days of weeping and mourning for Mo- 
ses were ended — tliat "the chikh-en of Israel hearkened to 
Josiuia the son of Nun, and did as the Lord commanded 
Moses." Happy that people who have wise and faithful 
rulers, still left when their Moses is called to Pisfrali's top to 
view the promised land, and die! Take another illustration 
from Jewish history. 

The Prophet Zechariah has compared true repentance for 
sin, to a nation's sorrow over a fallen chief. "In tliat day 
shall there be a great mourning as the mourning of Hadadrim- 
mon in the valley of Megiddon; and the land shall mourn." 
The allusion is made to the national grief at the death of 
King Josiah. This amiable Monarch came into public life 
while young — v/as active and faithful in the reform of the 
abuses of former administrations — and so managed the inter- 
ests of both Church and State, us to be greatly beloved by 
the people. 

But in the midst of his usefulness, he was slain in battle 
by Pharaoh — Neco, King of Egypt, in the valley of Megiddo. 
"His servants, tlierefore, took him to Jerusalem, and he was 
buried in one of the sepulchres of his fathers. And all 
Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah — And Jeremiah 
lamented for Josiah: and all the singing men and the singing 
women spake of Josiah in their lamentations — and made 
them an ordinance in Israel: and behold they are written in 
the Lamentations." And this is a part of what was written, 
"Our persecutors are swifter than the eagles of heaven: they 
pursued us upon the mountains; they laid wait for us in the 
wilderness; tlie breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the 
Lord was taken in their pits, of whom wc said under his 
shadow shall we live among the heathen." 

In the New Testament we have an example of mourning, 
not by a nation, but by the Church of God, over a fallen 
leader. It is recorded, on the sacred page, for our instruc- 
tion, that "devout men carried Stephen to his burial and made 
great lamentation over him." These devout christians imi- 



tated ihe conduct of Patnarclis and Fropliets, The}- follow- 
* ed the example of the man after God's own heart; who when 
a great man had fallen in Israel, "said to all the people, rend 
your clothes, and gird you with sackcloth and mourn before 
Abner. And David himself followed the bier. And the 
King lifted up his voice and wept at the grave of Abner," 

Examples are not wanting in civil history to illustrate this 
subject. But without detaining you, may I not ask, where 
has there been a people, ancient or modern, civilized or 
savage, infidel or Christian, but have had their seasons of 
mourning for their illustrious dead? And now our time of 
sorrow has come. For more than thirty years v/e have en- 
joyed unusual prosperity. The moralist. Time, lias emptied 
his glass in the chambers of five distinguished Presidents. — 
They served their generations, and came to their graves, 
without becoming a nation's lamentation. Not so with our 
late Chief Magistrate. Just seated in the Presidential Chair, 
just placing his hand upon the helm of state, and adjusting 
the sheet anchor of our nation's hope, he is snatched from his 
station, and cast down to fill a niche in the mansions of the 
dead! But he has not left us in total darkness. The works 
began are brilliant, and if God bless, must be successful. 

His Inaugural Address, his Christian example, his able 
Cabinet, and "the spirit of wisdom" displayed by his suc- 
cessor, cheer us in our deepest sorrow, and afford a gloriou- 
prospect of successful administration. In his inaugural ad- 
dress, William Henry Harrison shone forth — not like the 
glimmering light of a remote star penetrating the darkness of 
our orb — not like the reflected beams of the pale moon, shed 
down cold and cheerless, upon a benighted world — but like 
the luminary of day, walking in brightness, and pouring 
down his genial light and warmth as the glorious centre 
of our own system. That document forms a monument of 
glory more lasting than the pillars of Herrides, Simple, 
classical, clear, and cogent, it has carried conviction into the 
ranks of political opponents. The deep and intimate ac- 



s 

qnaintance with the true import ol the federal Constitution, 
with the nature of our domestic and forcigu relations, and 
the real wants and interests of the people, txjgether with the 
public and unequivocal avowal of profouml respect for the 
Christian religion, render the Inaugural &f the 4th of March 
1811, one of the most important State papers ever filed iu 
the archives of the Union. And it confirms an opinion long 
since expressed* — that " General Harrisok, was a citizen 
and a soldier, a scholar and a -gentleman, a farmer and a 
statesman — a patriot and the poor man's friend — wortliy to 
receive, and competent to fill the highest office in the gift of 
this free people." 

That General Harrison was pious in former years cannot 
be affirmed; but that his mind had undergone of late a very 
important change on the subject of personal religion, was 
believed by many. This belief Avas founded upon his man- 
ifest regard for good men — his i-espect and love for the Scrip- 
tures of truth — his serious attendance upon an Evangelical 
Ministry — his respect for the sanctity of the Sabbath, and 
other facts known in his private history. Of the reality of 
his personal religion, God alone is judge; while at the same 
time, in this matter we are not called "to sorrow as they who 
have no hope." 

Before General Harrison made any pretensions to person- 
al piety, he was amiable and worthy of confidence. His 
military and political life have been marked with wisdom, 
patriotism, probity, prowess, kindness and success. As a 
citizen, he was plain, afl'able, condescending, benevolent and 
hospitable. His house was a home and a sanctuary for the 
Ministers of the Gospel of Christ.t 

*Aboiit eight months before the Presidential election, in reply to a gen- 
tleman, residing in East Tennessee, who had asked the opinion of the au- 
thor of this sermon, respecting General Haeiiison's qualifications to fill 
the office of President, for which he was then a Candidate. 

tin the last twenty-five years, he has complained to me of three men 
who professed to be ministers of the gospel— a Blclhodisf, a Presbyterian, 



It is for the death of this man — pre-eminent in private and 
pnblic worth — we mourn. Let us in deep humility bow to 
the will ot God. Nature in the bitterness of unbelief would 
say, "curse God and die" — but Grace in the exercise of sub- 
mission and hope exclaims, "The Lord gave, and the Lord 
hath taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord." 

IL A nation is called to mourn when conscious of nation- 
al sins, which deserve national punishment. 

The existence of nations is only recognised in this present 
world. After death there is a judgment at which every man 
must give an account of himself to God. And at the great 
day, when the dead, small and great, shall stand before God — 
they shall not stand as nations, but in two divisions, the 
righteous and wicked. 

It is in this woild that nations sin and are punished. — 
God's wrath is levealed from heaven here against a sinful 
people. True, he suffers long and is kind — but vengeance 
will not sleep forever. Look at the waters of Noah, the fires 
of Sodom, the captivity of the ten tribes, the destruction of 
Jerusalem, and the dispersion of the Jews for eighteen cen- 
turies. Behold the overthrow of the greatest monarchies and 

and a New School Abolitionist. Of one, for imprudence in going through 
all the forms of public worship, and preaching a long and loud sermon when 
none were in attendance but the General and his servant. Of another, for 
avarice, in loaning money at ten per cent., when six was the lawful inter- 
est! And of the third, for folly, in preaching a whole sermon on the sin ot 
slave-holding, when not a single slave-holder was present— and when the 
state of the neighborhood, owing to recent calamities, called for a very dif- 
ferent discourse. But no man, perhaps, ever manifested a greater respect, 
than he did, for clergymen who used their sacred office for the good of souls 
and the glory of the Redeemer— who made the pulpit the place to exhibit 
the good sense of good men. He said to me once, after hearing two ser- 
mons on the Sabbath, "you preach too much to your people. They cannot 
retain and digest all they hear. Had I heard but one of your sermons to- 
day, I should have retained it and been profited, but after hearing both, by 
attempting to retain all, I have lost all." Yet when the General became 
more serious and spiritually minded, he could hear two sermons on the 
Sabbath with pleasure and advantage. 

3 



10 

the ruins of splendid and miglity cities, "Where is Nineveh 
and Babylon, and Old Tyre? V/here is the throne of Alex- 
ander, the seat of the Caesars, and the vast dominions of 
Napoleon? Where are the dynasties of Ancient Egypt, the 
dokedoms of Edom and the mighty republics of Greece? — 
And where will be our Republic if we continue to sin against 
God? — If we continue to sin — for it cannot be disguised that 
we have already sinned — that we have already suffered. But 
if this be the rebuke, what will be the vengeance? If God 
spared not the gold, the silver, the brass and the iron of 
mio-hty kingdoms — if he spared not Israel and Judah — "take 
heed lest he also spare not thee." God's dealings with a 
favored but sinful nation arc set forth in a Jewish melody. 

"My well-beloved hath a vineyard in a very pleasant hill: 
and he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and 
planted it with the choicest vine; and built a tower in the 
midst of it, and made a wine-press therein, and he looked 
that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild 
grapes. And now judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my 
vineyard. What next shall I do? Go to, I will tell you 
what I will do to my vineyard. I will take away the hedge 
thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break .down the wall 
thereof, and it shall be trodden down: and I will lay it waste, 
it shall not be pruned nor digged; but there shall come up 
briars and thorns; I will also command the clouds that they 
rain no rain upon it — For I looked for judgment, and behold 
oppression/or righteousness, and behold a cry." 

If I may be allowed to mention some of the national sins 
of these United States— 1 must name the offences of Sabbath 
breaking, oppression, pride, self-confidence and political con- 
test, for the power of party. Alas! we are a nation of Sab- 
bath breakers. The Sabbath was made for man: made to 
be kept holy as a day of sacred rest. By the example of 
him who is Lord of the Sabbath, it is lawful, on that day, to 
do works of necessity and mercy. Further than this no man, 
no famdy, no nation has a right to go, in Avorldly employ- 



11. 



ments. But have we stopped here'? Is not the day desecra- 
ted by the sanction and order of the General Government, so 
that even the sovereignty of the States cannot interfere, to 
preserve their own citizens from its profanation. The busi- 
ness part of community, both in and out of the Church, fol- 
low the example of the General Government, and invest their 
funds in Sabbath breaking corporations, and transport t'.icir 
goods continually in lines of conveyance that perpetually 
trample upon holy time. "Six days thou shalt labor and do 
all thy work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord 
thy God, in it thou shalt do no servile labor." 

This law was given to man before the fall. It was devout- 
ly obeyed by Patriarchs and Prophets — sanctioned by Christ 
and the Apostles, and kept by holy men in all ages. This 
law was written in the Decalogue by the linger of God, and 
promulgated at Sinai in the midst of fire. None can disre- 
gard this law with impunity. The violation of no precept 
has been ever followed with more certain and signal marks of 
divine displeasure. God plucked up his own covenant peo- 
ple for profaning his Sabbaths, and none have ever yet prac- 
tised in this sin and prospered. 

France once decreed the destruction of the Lord's day, but 
France was drenched in blood, and trodden down by despots. 
God now commands all men every where to repent, and ex- 
cept we repent, we shall perish. 

Alas! We are too a nation of oppressors. The wrongs of 
Africa testify against us. I admit, that as a Republic we did 
not plant American slavery in our soil. Unliappily this work 
of sin and shame was done by foreign power, when we were 
dependent colonies. But we have given sanction to its dura- 
tion, and augmented its growth. By our federal compact the 
slave-trade from Africa was continued on till 1808. And the 
domestic slave-trade is continued on to the present hour. — 
We call the slave-trade between the continents piracy, but the 
slade-trade between the States is denominated lawful traffic! 
We talk of abolishing the African slave-trade by colonies and 



12 

sliips of war — but ihc slave-trade goes on with all ila liorrcrs 
and can never be abolished as long as there is a slave market 
kept open. J^et us pull out the beam before we try to extract 
the mote. Abolish the slave-markets, and the trade is at an 
end. We proclaim liberty, by wholesale, with the trumpet 
of our national jubilee, but the oppressed goes not free. And 
while our Federal Compact remains v.-hat it is, there is no 
remedy. When a nation is called, in the Providence of God, 
to mourn and repent, she is called upon to reform. Will this 
nation now be humble under the mighty hand of God and 
reform, or will she brave his vengeance? The same power 
that made our Federal Constitution what it is, can make it 
better. It is not, like the laws of tlie Medes and Persians, 
unchangeable. Tiie majority in our government must rule, 
or we plunge into anarchy or despotism. The majority said 
the evil should conliiuie, and it continued. The minority 
bowed to their will. Now, let the majority say, it shall 
end. Let them say so in a constitutional way, and end it 
must. The minority must submit. As long as the majority 
says, slavery shall 1)e, a lawful and binding relation must 
exist between n^saster and servant, wilii whicli no man has 
a right to meddle, only to propose in a peaceable manner 
constitutional remedies. But let the majority say slavery 
shall not be, and this relation is instantly dissolved — the 
slave is free — the master's authority comes to an end. 

That Patriot who shall place himself as a shield between 
this nation and the righteous judgments of God, by the pro- 
curing of an amendment to the Constitution to abolish slave- 
ry, will deserve and receive the thanks of good men in this 
nation, and among every wise and virtuous community, under 
heaven. How would my heart rejoice to see such a man as 
the Hon. Henry Clay, or Hon. Daniel Webster, or some 
other able Statesman, take the lead in this good work, r.nd 
with his mighty hand push on such a reformation to its full 
accoaiplishment! 

Did time permit, I might add tlie wrongs done to the Abo- 



13 

rigines of our country — I might dwell upon our national 
pride, and sell-confidence and abuse of credit — but I must 
call your attention to another sin, which I fear will prove our 
ruin- I mean our political contests for the power of paity. 
The good of the whole should be the aim of all. It is so 
professedly; but with profession of patriotism in our mouths, 
we have actually become a nation of political gladiators. We 
must expect difference of opinion about men and measures, 
and we must admit the freedom ot discussion — but the rancor 
of party has become so violent, that our once happy land — 
our once peaceful halls of legislation, — are stained with blood! 
But the streams of blood which have gushed from the veins 
of dying combatants, are nothing to be compared with the 
destruction of character by false tongues. "A good name is 
better than precious ointment," and many a noble spirit has 
adopted the maxim, "death before dishonor." But who 
can stand before envy? Who can politically live under the 
scourge of the false tongue? For party purposes, the most 
base and unfounded calumnies have been fabricated, spoken 
and published against the best of men. And when these 
have been disproved the hundreth time, the vile slanderer has 
come afresh to the assault, as though he had never been refu- 
ted nor confounded. I speak not of one political party, it is 
a crying sin of our land, it is a wicked abuse of liberty, and 
it must lead to utter ruin, except we repent. O, brethren, 
let us this day humble ourselves before God, and mourn over 
this sin and forsake it forever. Let us esteem character 
dearer than life, and as we would that men should do to us, 
do the same to them. 

Before I conclude, I must mention another sin. We have 
trusted too much in an arm of flesh. We are this day suffer- 
ing sharp rebuke for placing too much confidence in man. I 
speak of the majority, for whether right or wrong, they form 
the nation. They depended too much upon the man of their 
choice. They expected too much from him. He felt and 
expressed his need of wisdom and strength from on liigh — 



14 

but we were looking to the creature more than to the Creator, 
And God has taken him away as a just judgment on us. It 
is written, "curbed be man that trusteth in man and maketh 
flesh his aim." Let us mourn before God over his sin also, 
lest a worse evil come upon us— lest God should remove all 
good men from among us, and leave us an easy prey to our 
enemies. 

Blessed be God, we are not yet left to despair. Our wor- 
thy Chief Mjigistrate was permitted to ascend Nebo, and to 
stand on the top of Pisgah. Hence he surveyed with expec- 
tation the regions and measures of moral and political re- 
form. Having seen them spread before him, like a vast land- 
scape, he took his flight from that lofty summit, to the unseen 
world. His noble successor is left to carry out his plans, or 
adopt more salutary measures. And now let us go with our 
leader in every movement of reform — let none of our host, 
like Achan, defile himself with the wedge of gold and Baby- 
lonish garment. Let us remember, that a nation may mourn 
and repent for national sins, so as to arrest the judgments of 
God; and yet citizens may remain impenitent in regard to 
their own transgressions. Let us humble ourselves person- 
ally, as well as nationally, before God. And while we adopt 
external signs of national sorrow, let it be seen in our lives, 
that our sorrow is not that of the world that worketh death, 
but "a godly sorrow that worketh repentance unto salvation, 
and needeth not to be repented of." May the Lord pour 
upon us, this day, "the spirit of grace and of supplications," 
that we may look upon Jesus — whom we have pierced, "and 
mourn for him, as one mourneth for an only son, and be in 
bitterness for him as one is in bitterness for a first born." — 
And when every family shall mourn apart, and every citizen 
bring forth fruits meet for repentance, then shall the desolat- 
ing judgments of God be averted, and that righteousness 
which exalteth a nation, shine forth with unfading lustre. 



